New York Times To Reinstate Online Paywall Friday

The New York Times is expanding its subscription offerings to include a low-priced app. Photo: Reuters

After Hurricane Sandy devastated much of the northeast, the New York Times temporarily removed their paywall in order to allow those affected by the storm unfettered access to the latest news. At some time on Friday, however, the New York Times will be reinstating their paywall.

The news came in the form of a small update listed on the Times’ homepage, entitled “To Our Readers.”

“Later today The Times is reinstating the normal free article limit on nytimes.com and its mobile apps,” the note reads. “The limit was lifted as a service to readers during Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath. To continue getting unlimited access to our site and apps, click here.”

With the paywall in place, non-subscribers to the paper can only access ten articles per month on their computers or mobile devices. Subscribers are able to view as many articles as they like.

The New York Times first did away with its paywall on Sunday, allowing anyone across the world to access up-to-date information on tracking Hurricane Sandy. Throughout the storm, the paper provided tracking and evacuation information for the mid-Atlantic region.

“The gateway has been removed from the entire site and all apps. The plan is to keep it that way until the weather emergency is over,” Times spokesperson Eileen Murphy told Poynter.

The New York Times wasn’t the only paper to drop their paywall in the face of Hurricane Sandy. The Wall Street Journal briefly did away with their paywall as well, allowing anyone online to access its articles.

And for anyone mourning their unrestricted access to the New York Times archives, rest assured that there are plenty of guides to bypassing the paywall entirely out there online. All it takes is a quick Google search and a somewhat flexible moral fiber.